Sick Days
by Spirit of a Rose
Summary: As usual, things are almost back to normal -at least until Rin wakes up with a fever, and Archer discovers that there is more to being a Servant than fighting. An ArcherXRin of sorts. Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Development

My first attempt at (somewhat) of a romance...which I distinctly remember swearing to never, ever attempt, but I suppose this is what anime does to you, lol. Introducing one of my favorite ships! I love the Fate series, so this will be fun (:

Enjoy, and as always, please review and let me know what you think!

 **Chapter One**

 **An Unexpected Development**

He's spent millennia alone, but it's only taken a few short days for him to grow used to the routine of coming in from his usual nightly patrol to prepare breakfast, set the water to boil for tea, and make sure that the old-fashioned heating system has enough water heated for a bath before the clock strikes seven.

Normally his chores are interrupted by the muffled thump and ensuing groan of Tohsaka Rin dragging herself out of bed and into the bathroom down the hall. She'll reappear a good forty-five minutes later, still a bit groggy with sleep, but dressed in her uniform with her hair brushed and awake enough to grumble at him while she sips her tea.

Today, though, the clock strikes seven, and there is no sound of muffled footsteps overhead, no distant thump as she staggers into the bathroom and turns on the tap.

He waits a few more minutes, finishing the tea -she prefers Earl Grey in the mornings, even though at night she always wants something sweeter- and finally heads upstairs to check on his Master and make sure she hasn't managed to knock herself out on the nightstand or something.

He knocks on the door before entering, just to be sure. He materialized once when she had been in the middle of changing -arguably, he had no way of knowing what she had been doing, but he'd still gotten a shirt thrown at his head, accompanied by a few muffled threats from behind the old-fashioned wardrobe, while he tried to calmly explain that no, he had not seen anything.

There's no reply, so he opens the door and cautiously pokes his head in. "Rin?"

The room is dark. Cracks of light frame the heavy drapes on the far side of the room, besides the shadowy shape of the four-poster bed. He makes his way over to it, maneuvering around the stacks of books piled haphazardly on the floor and on the table by the foot of the bed, and sighs at the heap of dirty clothes tossed carelessly in one corner.

"Rin," he says, shaking her shoulder. The muffled bundle of sheets stirs and a tangled dark head appears, blinking dark blue eyes up at him blearily. "Nyeh...g'way..." Rin mumbles, and buries her face back in the pillow.

"Rin," he says in minor exasperation, "You're going to be late for school."

"Don't care," she mutters, her voice muffled in the pillow. He sighs and decides on the simplest course of action; he yanks the sheets off and tosses them aside pitilessly when Rin yelps and grabs for them.

Archer looks down at his Master. Rin glares blearily up at him, her long yellow nightgown puddled around her hips and her black hair falling past her shoulders in tangled strands as she clutches a pillow to her chest, apparently now awake enough to speak coherently.

"I was up until two," she grumbles, and sneezes, making another unsuccessful grab at the blankets. Archer pulls them away. "I did warn you about staying up late," he says unsympathetically. "It's past seven. You're going to be late if you don't hurry."

Rin blinks at her clock and moans and topples back face first onto her pillow. "I'm not going," she mumbles. "Just leave me alone."

Archer raises a pale brow at her. "Ah," he says dryly. "So first you tell Emiya Shirou that you will meet him at school today, and then you forget about it and stay up late again?" He clicks his tongue in mock disapproval and shakes his head. "What an unreliable master I have." He dodges the pillow aimed at his head, expecting a retaliation of some sort. Rin sits up again and glares at him. "Heartless jerk," she mumbles half-heartedly. He tosses the pillow back to her. "Breakfast is downstairs when you're ready," he says, and pauses in the doorway and glances back and adds wickedly, "By the way, you might want to wipe the drool off your face before you come down."

He's rewarded by a shout of "You jerk!" and another pillow thrown at his head. He ducks easily and closes the door behind him with a mocking bow as Rin scrambles to her feet, still calling him names. "And I do _not_ drool!" she shouts through the closed door at him.

"Whatever you say, Master," he calls back, smirking. There's a thump, presumably as Rin stumbles over the pile of books on the floor, and a muffled curse. Whistling, Archer heads back downstairs, making a mental note to clean up her room whenever he gets the chance.

As much as he refuses to admit it, he's grown accustomed this daily routine. Rin is a capable Master, for all her faults, and he enjoys teasing her and watching her flush and snap back a sharp retort. It's definitely a pleasant change from the barren landscape and endless repetition of murder and meaningless slaughter that's grown to define his current existence.

He's in a rare good mood as he sets out the tea, despite the knowledge that he's going to have to watch Emiya Shirou blunder his way through yet another conversation with his master this afternoon. He hasn't felt happy for longer that he can remember –can't even remember what it feels like, to be happy and without regret- but this strange contentedness is the closest he's come in a long, long time.

At least, until there's another thump on the stairs behind him and Rin stumbles blearily into the living room and collapses on the couch, where she promptly curls up and clutches her head.

Archer raises an eyebrow. "Did you fall and hit yourself?" he asks, feeling another flicker of exasperation. _Really, this girl…_

"Shut up," Rin mumbles, and squeezes her eyes shut as if the light hurts them. He frowns a little, but chooses to ignore it. "Here's your breakfast," he says briskly, setting the plate down next to the china tea cup. Rin doesn't open her eyes. "I'm not hungry," she mumbles.

Archer sighs. "You should eat something," he says. "Fighting on an empty stomach is likely to get you killed."

"I'll be fine," she mutters, and reluctantly opens her eyes. She pushes herself up and stands, swaying, and looks dazedly around her like she doesn't quite know where she is.

Archer's frown deepens. Now he notices the hot flush in her face, the too-bright look in her dark eyes. She turns, blinking blearily at the doorway, and scowls at him as he steps closer and presses a hand to her rumpled bangs. "What're you doing?" she says, sounding annoyed, but she can't even summon the energy to shove his hand away, stumbling as she tries to step back.

Archer grabs her arm to keep her from falling. "I knew it," he says with a frown. "You have a fever."

Rin scowls up at him. "What you are talking about?" she demands, and sways a little. Archer tightens his grip on her arm. "I'm fine." She tugs her arm away. "Stop joking around and let me go."

Archer folds his arms across his chest. "You have a fever," he repeats, ignoring her. "You should stay home and rest."

"I said I'm _fine_ ," Rin insists. She takes another step back and wobbles dizzily, then seems to find her balance enough to make it to the doorway. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Archer raises an eyebrow, considering whether he should tell her or not, and decides that it's no fun taking advantage of her when she's clearly so disorientated. "Rin," he says with painstaking patience. She turns to look back at him. "What?" she says irritably. Archer gestures at her school bag, still lying on the couch where she'd dropped it. "Forgetting something?"

She glares at him and grabs her bag, then stalks back to the doorway. He watches her brace herself against the wall for a moment, her shoulders rising and falling unsteadily, before clumsily making her way out into the hall, and sighs for what feels like the fifth time that morning.

Rin almost walks into him as he moves to block the doorway. She blinks up at him, a little bemused, and frowns. "Move," she says, reaching past him for the knob.

"You are not going to school," he says flatly. Rin ignores him. "Don't be ridiculous," she snaps, trying to push past him. "You said it yourself, I have to meet up with Emiya-kun. Besides, I'm perfectly fi-" she breaks off, coughing.

"So I see," Archer says dryly. Rin glares at him and opens her mouth to say something, but another coughing fit interrupts her. Archer waits patiently for her to straighten again, gasping for breath, and folds his arms, barring the door. "Rest," he says firmly. "You're burning up. I will tell Emiya Shirou that you are sick and cannot make it today." He hides a grimace at the thought.

Rin has that stubborn look on her face again that he's all too familiar with by this point. It means that his master has made up her mind and nothing is going to stop her. "Rin," he says again, although he knows it's useless.

"Don't be such a worrywart," Rin says, and coughs again. "It's just a little cold. Let's go."

He moves aside and watches wordlessly as she walks out the door, clutching her bag. She's still stumbling a little, but her gaze seems a bit clearer, and he's just starting to think that she might make it after all when she trips over her own feet at the bottom-most step and goes down.

Archer sighs and walks over to help pull her to her feet. "As much as I would enjoy watching you fall flat on your face again, I doubt the other Servants would find it quite as amusing," he says, moving to block her as she tries to step past him. She glares at him, but she's swaying again, frowning as she tries to focus through feverishly bright eyes. "I'm-" she manages, and doubles over, coughing.

Archer steadies her. "Do I have to ask you again, or are you going to make me carry you?" he asks, a little too patiently. Rin narrows her eyes at him, but the effect is somewhat lessened by the way she clutches his arm as she fights to stay upright. "Jerk," she mumbles, but even the insult is half-hearted.

Looking at her, he realizes that it's unlikely that she can even make it back up the front steps without falling again. Her entire face is flushed with fever, and her dark hair is damp with sweat, her breathing unsteady. Her grip on his arm is weak, her fingers clenched in the crimson fabric of his jacket as she tries to stand. She yelps and struggles when he scoops her up briskly in his arm and walks back into the house, ignoring her cries of, "Hey! Let go of me –you jerk- I can walk by myself-"

He carries her up the flight of stairs, still wriggling and shouting insults, and dumps her unceremoniously into her four-poster bed. "Rest," he says firmly. "I'll make tea."

Rin scowls at him. "I'm _fine_ ," she mutters rebelliously, but she doesn't try to get up. Archer rolls his eyes. "Whatever you say, Master. What kind of tea would you like?"

"…Chamomile," she mumbles at last. Archer nods and leaves, closing the door firmly behind him.

 _Well_ , he thinks as he heads back downstairs, _this will be interesting._


	2. Chapter 2: Stubborness and Common Sense

**A/N**

Second chapter! Sorry this took so long to update -senior year is crazy! Hopefully once summer comes I can update more frequently.

It's a bit short, but the next chapter will be longer again, I promise! As always, enjoy, and thanks so much for reading! Special thanks to and **Ceye** for reviewing!

Chapter Two:

Archer blinks.

Curled up in a blanket on the floor of her bedroom in the midst of the piles of scattered spell books and dirty laundry, Rin blinks back up at him, a tattered scroll in her lap. "Ah, thanks. You can put the tea over there," she says, waving distractedly at the table behind her. Archer doesn't move from the doorway, the tea tray balanced in one hand, a thermometer in the other. "Rin," he says, a barely perceptible edge to his voice, "What are you doing?"

Rin doesn't look up. "Looking up restoration spells," she says matter-of-factly, and coughs. "I have a war to win. I'm not going to stop for a little something like a fever." She coughs again, harder, until her entire body spasms. The scroll topples from her lap as she doubles over, clutching her chest and gasping for breath between coughs.

In the space of a second Archer is kneeling besides her, the tea tray forgotten on the floor as he eases her back up and raises the cup to her lips. "Drink," he says firmly when she shakes her head and tries to push him away. Rin coughs again, weaker this time, and drinks. When she stops she's still panting, breathless, but the coughs have stopped.

Archer helps her to sit up. "I recall asking you to _rest_ ," he says when she's finally caught her breath. Rin glares at him. "I _was_ resting," she says, her voice hoarse. "I was resting _and_ finding a cure." She pushes him away and struggles to her feet, swaying, and looks around dazedly for the scroll.

Archer crosses his arms. "Resting means lying down. Preferably sleeping. You're never going to get better if you don't sleep, you know."

As usual, she ignores him. "I'm fine," she says, rolling her eyes, and coughs. "Anyway, what time is it?" She starts to rise, sways a bit, and thinks better of it. She squints blearily at the clock on the wall and frowns. "And why are you still here? I thought you said you were going to tell Emiya-kun why I can't make it to school today." Her gaze falls upon the scroll, concealed behind a pile of books, and she pounces on it with a hoarse cry of, "Ah-ha!"

Archer hasn't moved. Rin blinks up at him as if surprised to see him still standing there. "Why are you still here?" She flaps a hand at him in an impatient shooing motion. "Go on. I'll be fine. Just leave the tea and-" she breaks off, her body spasming again, and manages to recover before he can reach for the tea. "Go on," she says again, and ducks her head to hide a cough. "What are you waiting for?"

A muscle twitches in Archer's jaw. He takes a deep breath and manages to hold back a curt comment. "Rin, I'm not leaving you when you're like this," he says more or less calmly, and ruins the effect by adding, "And only an idiot would try something like this. I'm not letting you curse yourself, as amusing as that would no doubt be. Give me that." He reaches for the scroll. Rin jerks it away. "It's a restoration spell," she says tartly. "And it's only a _minor_ curse. Stop being such a worrywart and go to school already." She glares at him and briskly folds the scroll back over her knees and goes back to reading.

Archer folds his arms. Her order is tugging at him to obey, but he has the feeling that if he does he's either going to come back without a Master or with the mansion in ruins. Why is she so _stubborn_?

"Rin," he says tightly. The girl at his feet heaves a sigh and looks back up. "Honestly, do I have to use a command seal?" she says in exasperation. "Go away! I'll be fine!"

The muscle twitch in Archer's taut jaw becomes more of a spasm. "Rest, and then I'll go."

Rin glares up at him. Archer narrows his dark grey eyes. It would be so much easier to glare at her if her flashing blue gaze wasn't so clouded with fever, or if she wasn't swaying where she sat. As it was, the silent battle of wills might have continued for a while if Rin hadn't abruptly started to cough again. The scroll spills out of her lap. Archer picks it up before she can reach for it and tucks it firmly into his crimson jacket. "Bed," he says. "Now. Rest, and _then_ I will go inform Emiya Shirou."

Rin doesn't move, so he picks her up and dumps her on the bed. She doesn't help him, but she doesn't resist, either, just settles down reluctantly beneath the sheets and mutters, "I thought Servants were supposed to be obedient."

"Funny," Archer says dryly. "I thought Masters were supposed to have some common sense."

"Jerk," she mumbles, which is how he knows she's getting tired, to not launch a full-fledged rant at him.

"Whatever you say, Master," is all he says, and tucks the sheet over her. Rin shivers and reaches for the coverlet. "I'm cold," she says.

"It's the fever," he says. "You're already overheating."

"Cold," she mutters stubbornly, pulling the coverlet over herself. Archer sighs and decides that since the other option is an ancient curse, a little warmth can't hurt that much. "Fine," he says, and turns. "I will go tell Emiya Shirou why you can't make it." He can already feel the muscle twitching in his jaw again.

"Good," Rin mumbles. "Yeah…" She mumbles something else, something he can't make out. He glances back at her. She's snuggled contentedly beneath a mound of blankets, the top of her head just poking out on her pillow, her long dark hair spilling over it. It's admittedly rather cute how she sleeps, the sheets drawn up under her chin and curled up on one side, her eyes drifting closed against her will. The tea must have finally kicked in.

"Sleep well, little Master," he says, and dematerializes, blurring away into a shimmer of mist, and then nothing at all.


	3. Chapter 3: A Few Minor Issues

**A/N**

Third chapter! Woo! Hopefully now I can work on some of my other stories...

Thanks to and **Madoka** for reviewing! I really appreciate everyone's comments! Enjoy! This chapter went really well (:

Chapter Three

Shirou Emiya blinks at the empty rooftop, his school bag slung over one shoulder, two cans of tea in his hands. He could have sworn that Tohsaka asked him to meet her up here yesterday during lunch, but the only other creature around is a speckled grey pigeon strutting along the low wall. It cocks its head at him as he glances around and flutters off. Three stories below, the wind carries up the faint chatter of students streaming out through the doors to have lunch in the courtyard. He looks for the familiar red coat and dark hair in long pigtails, but there's no sign of her. Shirou frowns. Maybe it was tomorrow…? He wonders, absently setting the drinks down on the low cement wall. He had been a bit distracted when she was talking. Maybe he just hadn't heard right. Or maybe she was just running late, although Tohsaka didn't seem like the kind to be late. His frown grows worried. Maybe she ran into trouble. Maybe he should go look for her-

"Rin is not here today," says a deep voice behind him, as if reading his thoughts. Shirou jumps. The tall, white-haired man who had appeared in front of him grabs the tea before they can topple off the rooftop.

Shirou doesn't try to take them back. Archer notes with a tinge of grudging respect how the younger boy has instinctively shifted into a fighting stance, his bronzed amber eyes wary as he glares at him. "Where's Tohsaka?" he asks abruptly.

Archer sets the tea back down and folds his arms. "Rin is not here," he says again curtly, and can't resist adding a mocking, "Which you would know, if you had bothered listening the first time."

Shirou doesn't relax. "Where is she?"

Archer resists the urge to say, None of your concern, but restrains himself. "Rin woke up with a fever this morning," he says instead, shortly. "She's staying home. She asked me to come and tell you that. Goodbye." He turns to go.

"Wait!" Shirou's voice has lost its guarded tone, and there's obvious worry in his bronzed amber eyes. "Is she alright? I mean, she's all alone at her house, right? I can come over and cook something for her, bring some medicine. How bad is her fever?"

Archer looks down at him. All the wariness has vanished from Shirou's face, making him look even younger somehow, his expression full of concern as he meets Archer's gaze worriedly. It strikes Archer that this boy has only really known Rin for a few days, but he's already worrying about her. Usually he would dismiss his obvious concern as weakness; after all, caring for one's opponent is just a good way to get yourself killed. Instead, the hidden implication irritates him.

"She is not alone," he says, annoyed, and then annoyed at himself for letting himself be annoyed. "I am with her. I do not require your help in taking care of my Master. Goodbye." He turns to walk away again. The obvious doubt in Shirou's face irritates him, and he has the familiar urge to give him one good shove and take care of that particular problem for good, if not for the irksome fact that Rin would probably be annoyed with him if he 'accidentally' killed her temporary ally.

As always, the younger boy demonstrates no survival instinct whatsoever. "I thought you guys were for fighting," he says, trotting after him to catch up, the tea forgotten. "Do you even know how to take care of a sick person?"

"I have lived many times longer than your pitiful lifespan," Archer says shortly. "I believe I can figure out how to take care of one small fever."

"Well, I can take care of her," Shirou says doggedly. "I don't mind. I'll just drop by after school and check in on her-"

Archer turns to face him. "Let me be clear," he says tautly. "I do not need your help, Emiya Shirou. I will take care of my Master without the aid of some boy who cannot even take care of himself. Goodbye." He dematerializes before Shirou can argue, leaving the other boy scowling at the place where he'd been.

The bedroom is dark when Archer materializes again. He'd meant to arrive downstairs first and make some tea, maybe some soup, but Emiya Shirou's implication that he was unable to take care of his Master sits in the back of his mind like an annoying itch he couldn't scratch. So he goes to the bedroom first.

Rin is still where he'd left her, to his relief; he'd had a vivid mental image of coming back to find the mansion in flames after she decided to work on her 'minor' curse in his absence. The lights are off -she must have turned them off some time when he was gone. He only hopes that the scorch marks around the light switch had always been there.

The muffled bundle on the bed shifts restlessly and rolls over. Rin moans softly in her sleep, her face buried in tangled strands of dark hair, and flops onto her side. He starts towards her and freezes as the coverlet slides off her bare leg and puddles on the floor. His eyesight adjusts to the dark, and now he sees what he should have noticed when he first materialized: the tangled folds of sheet wrapped around her torso, her shoulders bare.

Millennia of life-or-death experiences have given him instinctive reflexes, something he's never really appreciated quite so much before as his head snaps around before his mind can catch up with his body. He stares at the shadowy far wall, at the heap of dirty laundry piled on the floor, and thinks how ridiculous this is, that he's practically lost all human emotion and still has to fight down a flush at seeing a girl -admittedly, a very pretty girl- wearing only a sheet.

Calm down, he thinks irritatedly. It's just a minor issue. She must have gotten overheated and took off her clothes. She probably forgot that she's not living alone anymore. He glances out of the corner of his eye, trying to judge how much the sheet is covering her. There doesn't seem to be any major issues yet. The best course of action would probably be to just leave her and wait for her to wake up on her own, but he doesn't know how much her fever has gone down, if at all, and he definitely doesn't want to leave her like this in case Emiya Shirou decides to stop by, after all. The thought makes him cringe.

Rin moans again and flops onto her stomach, flinging one arm over the side of the bed. Her face is flushed, and she still looks feverish, her dark bangs clinging to her damp forehead. He really shouldn't just leave her there.

Archer sighs and rakes his fingers through his hair. He braces himself mentally, then goes over and briskly tucks the sheet over her, tucking in the edges firmly so they won't tug free. "Rin," he says, shaking her shoulder. Her skin is hot and dry to the touch, but her sheets are soaked with sweat. "Rin," he tries again. Rin mumbles something blearily and raises her head. She blinks at him dazedly through fever-clouded eyes. "Archer?" she mumbles, and buries her face back in the pillow. "Nyeh…sleepy…g'way…"

"Rin, wake up," he says impatiently. She stirs, her lashes fluttering, but he can't seem to shake her out of her feverish state. "G'way," she mumbles, and flops over to turn her back to him, the sheet crumpling. He grabs it swiftly and pins the edges down before she can kick them off entirely, feeling his own face turn a little hot. This is ridiculous, he thinks again, half-exasperatedly. "Rin!"

She doesn't twitch. Her chest rises and falls in shallow breaths beneath the sheet. He can feel the heat radiating off of her, but she's starting to shiver again. He takes that as not a good sign. He tries to shake her shoulder again, but she remains unresponsive, unconscious to her surroundings. He gives up on waking her, his exasperation rapidly giving way to anxiety. He needs to cool her off, he thinks. His first though is a cold bath, but that's obviously out of the question, with her half-unconscious. He needs a way to wash off the sweat, let her cool off. Cool cloths might work, but not when she's like this, not when she's only wrapped in a sheet and he can't wake her.

So he needs to fix the clothing situation, first off, he thinks, doing his best to think strategically, ignoring the fact that she's sprawled underneath a sheet in front of him. And find a way to do it so that she won't kill him the moment she regains consciousness. Right. This might be slightly difficult.

In the end, he ends up doing the only thing he can think of. He finds a clean sheet and lays it over her, then eases the other sheet carefully out from under it and wraps the clean one firmly around her, then props her up against the headboard. Rin slumps against him as he adjusts her position, gingerly laying her legs across his knees and keeping her carefully wrapped tightly in the sheet as he dabs off her forehead, shoulders, arm and legs with a damp cloth. She stirs a little as he begins, then relaxes against him, her head falling against his chest as she mumbles something in her sleep, her eyes fluttering, and lapses back into semi-consciousness. He keeps her propped up with one arm around her bare shoulders, the sheet tucked firmly between them, and sponges her off with the other. Her skin is so hot he's begun to grow warm himself. He's already shed his crimson jacket, working in his sleeveless jet body armor as he dabs at her forehead, tucking a stray dark strand behind her ear. He's struck suddenly by the thought that this is the closest she's probably been to anybody in years, since her parents died. He only knows a little about her past, mostly from the flashes of memory he glimpsed when the contract was first formed between them, but even so he knows her well, knows how hard she's worked, how she's kept herself aloof from everyone and studied and worked alone, how she's never let anyone into her life since her childhood collapsed on the day her father died.

She's never talked about her past to him, and in unspoken agreement he's never talked about his, not that he ever wanted to. He likes his master, admires her strength and discipline and respects her desire to stand alone, but there's something about this, about the suddenly fragile girl in his arms that makes him want to protect her. Not just as a Servant. Emotionally. He wants to keep her from the path of loneliness. He knows all too well what it means to be alone, to stand by yourself and never look back, never be able to move forward. He doesn't want the same thing to happen to her.

In her sleep Rin snorts and pushes her nose against his black armor. A shiver ripples through her, then she sighs and nestles against him, wrapping one arm haphazardly around his neck. Archer freezes. When she's still again, he hastily unwraps her arm and lays her down on the bed, then gets to his feet and heads downstairs.

 **A/N**

Haha a little fanservice for all the ArcherXRin fans...;) This chapter was really fun. Just to clear some things up, I do like Shirou, he is one of my favorite Fate characters, although he can definitely be a noble idiot at times. But it was really fun to write him from Archer's perspective, since Archer dislikes him so much, he tends to overlook Shirou's good sides most of all.

Please review and tell me what you think! There will only be another chapter or so, and then I might do a few one-shots of the two of them along the same themes. If you have any ideas/requests, please let me know!

-Rose


	4. Chapter 4: Rivals

**A/N** Apologies that this took so long to update! I am now an official college student and things have been just short of insane recently. Anyway, here you go. It's a short chapter, but the next one should be quite a bit longer. Special thanks to CelestialDays, Gothazon, verna, and Madoka for reviewing. Enjoy!

 **Chapter Four**

 **Rivals**

The day is turning to dusk as the stocky teenager with rust-colored hair makes his way along the city sidewalks. The bustling crowd thins as the glassy apartment buildings turn to neat suburbs, dirty pavement transforming into grassy parks. The dying sunlight is glinting off the distant roof of Ryuudou temple as he turns a corner and looks up at the old-fashioned mansion perched on a hill overlooking the city. He takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders.

Archer is restlessly cleaning the kitchen when he hears the knock on the door. He stops and sets the pot in the sink, wiping his soapy hands off and pausing to brush his spiky hair out of his eyes. It's starting to droop, whether from stress or exhaustion he can't tell. He had been planning on sitting down with a cup of tea for a moment of rest, but the memory of what happened upstairs keeps replaying in his mind, making him restless. No matter how hard he tries, he can't settle his thoughts, so he resorts to the next best thing: cleaning.

Even as he goes to answer the door, he wonders who on earth it could possibly be. Rin had warned him that her guardian liked to stop by without warning -he likes to catch me off guard, stupid fake priest, she'd said resentfully- but Archer highly doubts that even a judge as unusual as Kotomine would risk coming to the residence of one of the Masters during the war. Solicitors hadn't come in years, judging by Rin's mumbled comment about an incident during her childhood when she'd been practicing flame spells and one had come to the door.

It's a mark of how distracted he is that by the time the thought of who it could be finally occurs to him, he's already opening the door. Too late, he starts to close it again. Shirou grabs the door with a yelp. "Hey! Wait a moment!"

Archer is sorely tempted to slam the door in his face, but he reluctantly lets go of the door. "What?" he says tersely.

Shirou holds up a bundle of plastic bags. "I came to check on Rin," he says. "I was going to make her some broth. Has she eaten anything today?"

About to tell him to mind his own business and let him take care of his own Master, Archer stops. Has she eaten anything yet? He remembers giving her tea, setting out the ingredients for soup, but then he came up to check on her, and she had been soaked in sweat and wearing only a sheet-

He squashes that train of thought firmly and looks back at the doorway, to find it empty. Shirou is already pushing past him, the plastic bags crackling. "I'll make some broth and leave," he says over his shoulder, his chin tilted stubbornly. "I just want to make sure she's okay."

Fine. If the brat wants to waste his time, let him. Archer shrugs. "Do whatever you want," he says carelessly, stifling a twinge of irritation.

It turns out Shirou's idea of making broth and then leaving is drastically different from Archer's. Archer sits in the living room, drinking his cup of tea as Shirou bustles around in the kitchen, restricting himself to making comments about Shirou's cooking methods, which Shirou staunchly ignores. When he gets bored of that, Archer goes back to dusting the living room, ignoring the delicious smells now floating through the house. When Shirou tries to head upstairs with a bowl of soup, Archer blocks his way.

"I'll take it up to her," he says in a tone that brooks no opposition. Shirou holds the bowl protectively. "I just want to check on her," he says. "She has a fever, right? My dad taught me how to bring fevers down when Tai -when someone I know was sick."

"No," Archer says flatly, the image of Rin tangled in a bedsheet vividly in his mind. Shirou gets that stubborn look again. "I'll leave after I make sure she's okay," he says. Archer raises a pale brow. If Shirou thinks that he can be intimidated by a scrawny brat with an obnoxious savior complex, he can think again. "No. If you wish to help that badly, go clean up the mess you made in the kitchen. I will take it up to Rin." He holds his hand out for the bowl, his face impassive.

Shirou frowns. "You aren't her only friend, you know," he says. "She's sick. She needs help."

Archer crosses his arms, not budging. "And you think you can help her? You, an idiotic brat with a saving people complex? Do you think Rin will like you any better if you help her? You are technically her enemy. I should kill you right here and now."

Shirou stiffens. "Go ahead and try," he says, which Archer finds almost laughable, if Shirou wasn't completely serious. Still…he lets the air shimmer around his hands, the familiar black and white swords materializing in his grip. He isn't actually planning on killing the brat -even if Rin wouldn't be furious if he killed her ally while she was sick, he wouldn't kill him, not here, not now. As pathetic as the defiance in Shirou's amber eyes is, there's something wrong in squashing it, at least the way things are now. In the middle of a battle, in an encounter at the school, perhaps -but he knows, as much as he hates it, as much as it grates him to know, that killing Shirou would be betraying Rin, and as much as he wants to end his paltry existence, he can't bring himself to break those ties, not yet.

Shirou tenses at the sight of the swords, but to Archer's surprise, he stays calm, just grips the bowl in one hand and stares back at him levelly, his chin thrust stubbornly out and that irrational defiance in his gaze. Why doesn't the brat step back? Why doesn't he try to defend himself? Only a fool would face a known enemy unarmed, but he sees the flicker of apprehension in Shirou's face despite its defiance. He's afraid, but he still won't back down, even over the simplest things. It's this stubbornness that will kill him, this refusal to understand that some things cannot be beaten, that some fights simply cannot be won. His grip tightens on the hilts of the swords. Shirou shifts into a fighting stance.

"What the hell is going on?"

Both of them flinch with surprise. Archer drops his hands, the swords fading away. Shirou straightens again, clutching the bowl of soup. Both of them turn to stare up at the muffled figure at the top of the stairs.

Rin scowls down at them, her arms crossed, a dark red bathrobe wrapped loosely around her. Her hair falls in tangled curls over her shoulders, her face still flushed, but her gaze is bright and clear as it comes to rest on Archer and narrows with unmistakable irritation.

Archer sighs.


	5. Chapter 5: Misunderstandings

"You know, it's really dangerous to come to another Master's house, even if we're technically allies." Rin sips her bowl of soup and hums in appreciation.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Shirou says. "Archer said you had a fever."

Rin sets down the empty bowl on the coffee table and leans back against the couch. "As much as I appreciate your concern, Emiya-kun, I am a mage. I can take care of myself." She gets to her feet. "Thank you for the soup, though. It was very good."

Shirou nods. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I should head back."

Rin smiles, all poise and elegance. "I'm fine now, thanks. I'll send Archer to escort you back."

"Ah, it's fine," Shirou says hastily. From his eavesdropping spot in the kitchen, Archer snorts. "It's barely dark out."

Rin frowns. "You really should have some sort of protection. If you're worried about what happened earlier, I told you, it was just a misunderstanding." She smiles again, sweetly. "Archer can be overprotective at times."

"It's really fine," Shirou insists, one foot already out the door. "I can summon Saber if something happens."

"Oh, alright then. Thanks again, Emiya-kun." Rin waves and closes the door. Her sweet smile vanishes. Archer feels the anger smack him through their bond before he even hears her yell his name. "AR-CHER!"

He stays in the kitchen. Rin's footsteps stomp into the living room. She appears in the doorway, scowling, hands propped on her hips. Her dark blue eyes are blazing. "What was that?" she demands.

Archer keeps his face blank. "What was what?"

She stamps her foot like a small child. "You know perfectly well what I mean! You were about to kill Emiya-kun!"

Archer raises a pale brow. "And since when were you concerned about enemy Masters?"

"Because he's not an enemy! He's our ally!"

"And I was not going to kill him," Archer interrupts, annoyed. "He was trying to go upstairs-"

"So you decided to stab him?" Rin says sarcastically. Archer's calm expressions twitches. "You were not-" he starts to say, and stops himself. He does _not_ want to explain what happened earlier. "You were feverish," he says instead. "As you obviously don't remember, the last time I checked on you, you were experimenting with curses. Letting Emiya Shirou walk in on you in that state seemed like a bad idea."

"I was _fine_ ," Rin says exasperatedly. Archer raises both eyebrows. "Ah, of course," he says with heavy sarcasm. "You were only feverish and in pathetic condition. I'm sure if Berserker walked in, you would have been able to defend yourself. But as you said, _mages_ should be able to take care of themselves. My apologies for wanting to make sure you were alright!" His voice rises. He grips his stirring emotions before he loses his temper completely. His edges start to blur. He can't read the expression on Rin's face.

"Archer, wait-" she says, but he's already gone.

 **A/N**

Yet another teaser...I will try to update sooner! Thank you to everyone for being so patient. Please review and tell me what you think!


	6. Chapter 6: Forgiveness

He can barely remember his own name at times, but the sight before him is still as familiar as his own heartbeat.  
The sun sinks gently behind the distant mountains, washing Fuyuki in fading red light. The darkening sky tints the empty streets with shadows, but dusky light still dances off the well-worn pavement and buildings. Crumbling stone houses stand side by side with modern stores and street lights, and the stark silhouette of the temple looms over it all like a ghostly blend of past and present.  
Archer sits on the sloping roof of the mansion and takes it all in. The light glints off his pale hair and dark armor, then even the last few rays are gone and there are only shadows. He takes a deep breath of the sharp night air and for a brief second feels human again.  
"I love this view," Rin says quietly behind him. He doesn't move. He had sensed her presence before she even climbed onto the roof, and knew she had followed their bond to him the same way he had used it to hide from her. Rin doesn't seem to mind. The worn shingles scrape roughly under her feet as she comes over and perches a little ways farther down. He can't see her face, just her shadowy outline against the darker shingles. "I wish I knew about this sooner," she says, as casually as if talking about the weather. "I always liked to watch the sun set from the balcony downstairs, but this is even better." She hugs her knees and props her chin on them, apparently unconcerned by the hundred-foot drop just below her feet. Archer glances at her blurred profile. "I thought you were angry," he remarks, expressionless. Rin shrugs. "I was," she says simply, and looks at him for the first time, a wry smile crooking the side of her mouth. "I woke up under a sheet feeling like I was hit with a hammer, and I come downstairs to find you about to kill poor Emiya-kun. He was only trying to help, you know. It takes a lot of courage to enter an enemy Master's base."  
Archer snorts. Courage is not the word he would have used. Rin ignores him. "He may be an idiot," she admits. "But he has a good heart, I think. It's a pity someone like him got sucked into all of this, but there's no helping it now. He'll learn to either put himself before others or be killed. He doesn't need you to kill him before he ever learns," she adds sternly.  
Archer snorts again. "Someone has to teach him."  
"He'll learn," Rin says, but she doesn't sound angry, just matter-of-fact. He glances at her again. She meets his gaze evenly, but there's a question in her eyes. "Archer-"  
He looks away. He knows what she's about to ask, and he doesn't want to answer. "How are you feeling?" he asks abruptly.  
"Okay." Rin suddenly seems very interested in the fabric of her skirt. "To be honest, I don't remember most of this morning. It must have just been a bad fever." She shrugs. "I'm still a little dizzy, but I'll be fine."  
Archer raises an eyebrow. Rin hastily changes the subject. "I'm starving," she announces. "Can you order takeout? I don't know what's left in the pantry-"  
Archer rises. "No takeout," he says firmly. "I'll cook."  
Rin tilts her head. "You can cook?"  
"I can do a lot of things," Archer retorts. "Like taking care of a sick Master."  
"I wasn't that sick," Rin grumbles, her good mood fading rapidly. "And I just remembered, Emiya-kun left some more soup in the fridge."  
"I threw it away," Archer lies, making a mental note to do just that as soon as possible. He folds his arms across his chest, raising the other eyebrow. "What, you don't believe me?"  
Rin makes a very unladylike face. "I've never heard of a Servant that cooks."  
"Ah. So of course your vast experience of seventeen years makes that a certainty."  
Rin gets to her feet. "Fine," she says. "If you say so. What else can you do?"  
If he wasn't so focused on keeping her distracted, he would have noticed how easily she gave in and been wary. As it is, he's just grateful she seems to have forgotten her earlier question. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can manage it," he says.  
Rin's smile is suddenly too sweet. "Excellent," she says. "In that case, you can go clean upstairs. Someone dumped all of Father's studies on curses on the floor. Also, my sheets need to be washed. Oh, and I would like a bath. Make sure the water's hot." With a smirk, she flips her hair over one shoulder and glides back down the ladder to the attic. Archer rolls his eyes. "Of course, little Master," he calls down, his tone dripping sarcasm. "Anything else?" Rin pauses on the ladder and considers. "Hmm...Oh, and you can apologize to Emiya-kun next time we see him," she says, and smiles up at him. "Thanks ever so much." Archer smiles back through gritted teeth. "Of course." Rin's at the bottom of the ladder when she pauses again. "Oh, and Archer?" she says, and something in her voice makes him look back. Her blue eyes are dark with an emotion he can't read, glinting in the slats of light that stream from below. "Thank you," she says quietly. "For caring." Archer doesn't say anything, and she turns away hastily, flushed with embarrassment. "Anyway, don't forget my bath!" she says quickly, and hurries off. Archer stays on the roof a moment longer. The dying sun is completely gone now. Darkness covers the town below like a blanket. The tiniest hint of a smile curls one corner of his mouth. He rakes a hand through his spiky hair and sighs. "You always could see right through me," he murmurs half to himself. Below through their bond he can feel Rin as she bustles about the kitchen. He hears her cry of outrage as she finds the leftover soup. "AR-CHER!" Archer smiles. Gold sparks swirl in the shadows, then the roof is empty again.

 **A/N**

A huge thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! You guys give me hope (: I hope you enjoyed it.

Love,

Rose


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